December 29, 2007

Let’s go, NY!

December 28, 2007

A very Jew-y Christmas

Is it just New York Jews who have some sort of movie-going/Chinese-food-ordering tradition on Christmas? I don’t Jew it up that well, though. We opted for Thai and the movie (Persepolis) was sold out.

Other than a last-minute passport renewal panic (great success, I leave for Aruba on Sunday), this week has been a whirlwind of wine, food and movies. Some quickie reviews are below. Please add your own recommendations in the comment section.

Eat:

Ilili-I mentioned this restaurant in my “things I want to do in NY” list (though I’ve only done #4 so far, I have a bunch of new things to add to a future such list). We checked it out on Christmas Eve and I liked it a lot. I recommend the Kubbeh and the brussel sprouts.

Stone Park Cafe in Park Slope, Brooklyn- This was merely ok. It’s a little overpriced for Park Slope, and the menu isn’t all that exciting. The risotto appetizer was pretty good, though.

Earthen Oven- Is it just me being an Anglophile or does Indian Food in America pretty much suck? Earthen Oven is my favorite Indian Food in NY, and therefore the country. It’s consistently delicious; almost as good as the Indian food in Britain.

Atlantic Grill, Brooklyn- This place used to be competitive with the powerhouses of Russian dining, Tatiana and Rasputin. Not. No. More.

Balthazar- I haven’t eaten at Balthazar in forever, because I think their food is pretty mediocre, but I stopped by their bakery today and picked up their signature chocolate bread as well as a baguette and a couple of tarts. They are incredible. I wonder if they still do that thing where they give away all of their unsold baked goods at the end of every evening. I used to have a friend who lived on that.

See

Juno-This movie was funny and cute. And I think the pro-life movement should appreciate a movie like this which has a pro-life theme without beating you over the head with it.

Beautiful Girls- I’ve seen this a million times and I just love something about the “coming home to figure things out” plot line.

Cymbeline at Lincoln Center- Cymbeline is one of Shakespeare’s lesser known plays. And now I sort of understand why. It had a good cast, with Phylicia Rashād and Martha Plimpton, it just wasn’t that compelling a story.

Drink:

Mille e Una Notte- My father gave me this bottle which translated means “A thousand and one nights”. It’s a little fuller than I tend to like my reds but it’s a great wine.

Massaya- I thought this Lebanese wine was pretty good. My date, a wine snob, did not.

Siete Leguas Tequila- In general, I despise tequila. I’ll drink it in Margaritas or other mixed drinks, but it takes a lot to convince me to do shots of Petron when they’re being passed around. Leguas, though, wow. It’s so good it’s sipped!

La Zollo Barolo- I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say this is one of the best wines I’ve ever had. I randomly picked it up at the wine shop across the street from my apartment and I got an approving comment from the owner. Even the aforementioned wine snob enjoyed it.

Again, please leave your own recommendations on things to eat, drink and see in the comment section. I love the suggestions.

Message

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday made her closing argument to female voters in a message that could be reduced to three words.

You. Go. Girl.

Actually, it’s more like “Republicans hate families”:

Clinton, standing in a lobby of a YWCA, told undecided mothers and their daughters that her agenda for families and children is the most aggressive to help them. She touted her family care and child care tax credits designed to lessen the burden on working women.

“We can do a better job in supporting families than we do right now,” Clinton said. “We give a lot of lip service to family values, but we’ve never really valued families in a way that we can.”

Or, the slightly lengthier, “Vote for Me, I’m a Chick”:

One voter, a self-described feminist, asked Clinton later in Keene if she thought it was acceptable to support her based solely on her gender.

“Of course I do,” Clinton said with laughter. “I’m not asking you to vote for me because I’m a woman. … But the fact that I am a woman gives this election extra significance.”

December 25, 2007

It’s Christmastime in the city

Though, as it’s John Kerry, he may change his mind soon

“I’m even more deeply troubled to see that today we find ourselves in a place of division when we could have been united – so much promise threatened by President Bush’s threat to veto a bipartisan bill that funds stem cell research.”- John Kerry on Stem Cell Research.

“Senator Kerry is deeply troubled by the numbers of people – and particularly the number of children – that are wounded or killed by gunfire each year and he supports stricter gun control measures in order to prevent children and adults from misusing any of the approximately 192 million firearms currently in circulation in the United States.” -John Kerry on guns.

“As a Bostonian, I couldn’t be more pleased that in just five days, the New England Patriots will attempt to become the first NFL team in 35 years to finish the regular season with an undefeated record,” Kerry wrote. “But as someone who represents all of Massachusetts and not just those in the Boston media market, I remain deeply troubled that today as many as 250,000 Massachusetts households, and millions of Patriots fans nationwide, may be denied access to this historic sporting event. …

Why Hollywood celebrities should never speak in public

December 21, 2007

Question

How come I got about a million emails from pro-life groups about the film Bella but none about the movie Juno? I didn’t see Bella, so I can’t speak to its quality, but Juno was a great movie that happened to have a great “choose life” message running all the way through.